Kuwait city: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation: expressed profound concern after a new analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) sounded alarm at widespread famine and preventable deaths in Gaza Strip.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the IPC analysis, released yesterday, confirms that there is a crime against humanity that requires immediate political and legal response from the international community, the OIC said in a press release on Saturday. The Israeli occupation authorities bear the full responsibility for such war crime since it is a direct result of the illegal siege on Gaza and bar to humanitarian aid, the statement stressed.
The OIC urged mobilizing all international mechanisms of emergency response to ensure unhindered flow of famine relief immediately to save the lives of trapped civilians in Gaza. The Organization stressed the importance of referring to the International Criminal Court the file of crimes of siege and starvation being committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians in the Strip.
It renewed the call for all countries of the world to shoulder their political, moral and legal responsibilities, impose sanctions on the Israeli occupation authorities - including an arms embargo, support the international mechanism of justice and accountability, and ensure compliance by the rules of the International Humanitarian Law. It reiterated the call for forcing the Israeli occupation authorities into halting the atrocities in Gaza and reopening the borders crossings to humanitarian assistances.
It also highlighted the importance of enabling the UN aid agencies, particularly the UNRWA, to resume their activities and provide the urgently needed relief effort for the Gazans. Yesterday, the FAO, UNICEF, WFP and WHO called, in a joint statement, for immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to curb deaths from hunger and malnutrition. Citing the IPC figures, they reported that more than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths.